How to become an advocate for kidney health

Over the past year, NKF advocates have won a number of policy campaigns both in Congress and state capitals across the country. While these victories will improve the lives of kidney patients nationwide, we’re not done yet. We need every voice for kidney health to join the fight to ensure that we are heard across the country. In this episode, we discussed some recent wins and our upcoming challenges for the kidney advocate community with Jeff Currey, a Connecticut State Representative and kidney transplant recipient, and Armand Halter, an NKF patient advocate who helped lead NKF’s efforts to pass the Connecticut version of the Living Donor Protection Act.

In this episode, you will hear from:

CT Representative Jeff Currey:

Rep. Jeff Currey is a United States State Senator in Connecticut who who was re-elected to a fourth term in 2020 to serve the 11th Assembly District. Currey, who went public with his kidney failure prognosis in 2020, received a kidney transplant from a longtime friend in January 2021. In May he supported and advocate for the Living Donor Protection Act (HB 6387) in Connecticut, which prohibits insurers from discriminating against living organ donors and creates a committee to promote kidney donation in the state.

Armand Halter:

Armand Halter is a patient-advocate from Connecticut who has led NKF’s efforts to pass a state version of the Living Donor Protection Act (HB 6387) in Connecticut, including testifying on February 11th. He has also been a mentor to fellow advocates and helped organize Connecticut advocates in their efforts to pass bills and raise awareness in the state legislature.

For more information on NKF's advocacy efforts and how to become an advocate yourself, visit voices.kidney.org. You can also email us directly at advocacy@kidney.org.